ESSAY

essay

(noun) a tentative attempt

essay

(noun) an analytic or interpretive literary composition

try, seek, attempt, essay, assay

(verb) make an effort or attempt; “He tried to shake off his fears”; “The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps”; “The police attempted to stop the thief”; “He sought to improve himself”; “She always seeks to do good in the world”

test, prove, try, try out, examine, essay

(verb) put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; “This approach has been tried with good results”; “Test this recipe”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Noun

essay (plural essays)

(authorship) A written composition of moderate length, exploring a particular issue or subject.

(obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.

(now rare) An attempt.

(philately, finance) A proposed design for a postage stamp or a banknote.

Etymology 2

Verb

essay (third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed)

(dated, transitive) To try.

(intransitive) To move forth, as into battle.

Anagrams

• Sayes, Sesay, eyass

Source: Wiktionary

Es"say, n.; pl. Essays. Etym: [F. essai, fr. L. exagium a weighing, weight, balance; ex out + agere to drive, do; cf. examen, exagmen, a means of weighing, a weighing, the tongue of a balance, exigere to drive out, examine, weigh, Gr. 'exa`gion a weight, 'exagia`zein to examine, 'exa`gein to drive out, export. See Agent, and cf. Exact, Examine, Assay.]

1. An effort made, or exertion of body or mind, for the performance of anything; a trial; attempt; as, to make an essay to benefit a friend. "The essay at organization." M. Arnold.

2. (Lit.)

Definition: A composition treating of any particular subject; -- usually shorter and less methodical than a formal, finished treatise; as, an essay on the life and writings of Homer; an essay on fossils, or on commerce.

3. An assay. See Assay, n. [Obs.]

Syn.

– Attempt; trial; endeavor; effort; tract; treatise; dissertation; disquisition.

Es*say", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Essayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Essaying.] Etym: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

1. To exert one's power or faculties upon; to make an effort to perform; to attempt; to endeavor; to make experiment or trial of; to try. What marvel if I thus essay to sing Byron. Essaying nothing she can not perform. Emerson. A danger lest the young enthusiast . . . should essay the impossible. J. C. Shairp.

2. To test the value and purity of (metals); to assay. See Assay. [Obs.] Locke.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition